A drug that the royal society says is "not as harmful to the human body or society as tobacco or alcohol"

Brown is a moron.

I thought we had gotten past these 1950s American hysteria views on pot, obviously not.

Views?

"And that will almost certainly see cannabis re-classified back to Class B - after being downgraded by Tony Blair three years ago to Class C - while its specific use for medical purposes may get the go-ahead."

So this very dangerous drug, which will obviously kill us and take over mankind is going to be illegal, yet will be used in health to MAKE PEOPLE BETTER....

Biggest joke and hypocrisy ive heard since the Iraq war.

Class B is where Marijuana belongs. If you go over the list of Class C drugs, they are all drugs with widely accepted medical uses and are generally marketed in at least some western countries for these uses; however, these drugs have some potential to be abused in ways other than prescribed and are thereby regulated. Class B drugs generally do not have any widespread medical uses, and despite the push to get marijuana distributed medically, the truth simply is, as stated by the FDA on April 20, 2006, that "marijuana has a very high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision." This is not the government restating the hypocracy of the 50s, but countering claims of marijuana's complete and undeniable safety, backed up by large amounts of sound evidence. It continues, "there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful"
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01362.html

I understand that Class B is a UK designation, but evidence gathered here in the United States can still be used to refute it.

They are going to use it for medical purposes though.

And are you insane? it belongs at class B?....five years in jail for smoking grass? really?

Listen to scientists, toxicologists, experts in the field and they will tell you it shouldnt be.

The Netherlands has a higher standard of living than the UK and guess what.....it isnt an offense there.

Looks like the whole "pot will take over the world and turn you into a heroin junkie, then kill all your family" thing is shit.

I mean come ON, i honestly thought we passed the 50s scare mongering attitude with pot.

I guess the government is too stupid to legalize it then CONTROL its use and strength? no, just ban it all, whilst, at the same time keeping tobacco and alcohol legal.....massive hypocrisy.

apparently there is a new stronger version of canabis possibly imported from jupiter called SKUNK! this is highly dangerous and can cause everyone who looks at it to turn into a gibbering rapist or small bog-eyed scottish person.

according to the police 99% of british youths under the age of 5 have had experience of canabis psychosis which leads to underachievement at keystage 3 and a widening rich-poor gap in our inner cities and islamic extremism.

Sounds like when people say that pirate DVDs fund terrorism. Seems like pure grey propaganda.

pirate dvd's fund the chinese.

http://tinyurl.com/3ak93d

you wan buy DVD?

Tobacco and alcohol should absolutely be illegal in the same sense that marijuana is, the fact that we are unable to pass laws further regulating those is no reason to leagalize another drug that is harmful.

We are not simply passing up all of the compounds in marijuana as potential medications, infact Dronabinol, a manmade version of THC, is sold under the trade name Marinol in the United States at least. However, smoked marijuana shows absolutely no additional medical benefits, and has been described by addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky as being nearly as difficult to treat as opiate addiction. Furthermore, marijuana has also been shown to "lead to abuse, tolerance and dependence. After long term use, withdrawal symptoms can develop if the marijuana usage is stopped suddenly Generally the withdrawal symptoms are mild and may include nausea, tremor, sweating, weight loss, insomnia, agitation and irritability. "
http://www.addictionsearch.com/treat...atment_25.html


Marijuana does have uses for several other things for use in making clothing and other industrial processes and I support its being used for that; however, it has no medical purpose as a smoked drug that should be legalized outside of going through normal FDA (or whatever it corresponds to in the UK) procedures to get legalized as an ordinarily prescribed drug as has been done by Marinol.

Wow, you are a complete retard that hasn't researched this topic at all. There are over 60 cannabinoids in marijuana, THC and it's synthetic counter part marinol is just ONE. It's not even the one that helps prevent the spasms that affect people with MS. Also, marijuana is no more (or barely more) addictive than gambling. In other words, it is hardly physically addictive. Mice won't even self administer the drug as they do with actually addictive drugs. I have smoked marijuana every day for months and quit cold turkey, no problem at all. Am I an anomaly? No. I just am not predisposed to addiction. If I were predisposed to be addicted, I would certainly rather be addicted to marijuana than alcohol or gambling.

ETA: Here are 2 references that prove marijuana is more effective for MS patients. Please stop regurgitating propaganda.

1

2

Why the hell would you want to synthesize a THC alternative when it can be grown so cheaply and easily as Marijuana? Fucking stupid if you ask me.

That's a good question, however, it is not quite as fucking stupid as you may expect if you do not have a firm understanding in medicine or chemistry. Luckily, Robert L. DuPont, M.D., President of the Institute For Behavior, has expertise in both of those and told ProCon.org in a 1/12/02 email:

"There is no possibility of approval of any plant as a medicine to treat any illness, now or ever because the chemicals in whole plants (to say nothing of smoked plants which are composed of many, many more chemicals) could be approved as a medicine. Plants are unstable mixtures of different chemicals which cannot be used directly to provide a 'dose' of a specific chemical to be used as a medical treatment."
http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.or...6160386338 91

Stupid Scottish motherfucker. I had no problems with him but it needs to be decriminalized and legalized completely.

He's gonna want to spend millions on fighting the drug war against cannabis. Waster.

It's not stupid in the slightest. Synthesised THC is much easier to dose, and it also means it is easier to market as a medicine rather then an illegal substance.

The possible effects of marijuana is like saying "drinking coffee CAN cause these effects.....but is mostly harmless"

If you think you know more than the head toxicologist at new york state university and more than the Dutch who obviously have their heads screwed on right then please...tell me what your degree is in? what branch of science or toxicology?

It is completely pathetic to criminalize people who smoke pot just as it would be to arrest those drinking coffee.

There was a report on a drug which was a new danger to society ages ago, it was the worst thing ever! and know what it was?.....tea, thats right.....tea got all the pot treatment.

Putting someone who smokes pot in jail for up to 5 years is in my eyes....totally and utterly pointless and pathetic, or jails are already overflowing and filling them with potheads wont help.

The home secretary and the minister for police have both come out today saying yep, we smoked pot when we were younger......and now they want to class it as bad as amphetamines. Hypocrites.

I emailed the Labour party on this but got the usual mass constructed email sent out to everyone and typical spin. The government is on such a power trip.

Agreed.

Where's the connection?

The Dutch's usage of cocaine is much lower, it's some correlation...

I don't believe any substance should be illegal, but thats just me.
Thats pretty much bullshit, the only reason MJ addiction could be as difficult to treat as opiate because there is less incentive to quit. If you want to, opiates are infinitely more difficult to quit than MJ. To develop withdrawal symptoms you usually need to be smoking almost every day, which relatively few people do. I've gotten the impression that cannabis was a fairly widely accepted treatment for pain, especially due to glaucoma, I'd have to say THC seems to be a safer and often more effective treatment than hydrocodiene etc.

You forget that behind the statistics for tobacco/alcohol/drugs related illnesses are people. Human beings have had since the dawn of their existence the ability to assess risks, and make their own decision based on their evaluation of these risks. In the last 100 years we haven't suddenly de-evolved and lost our ability to judge risk, as our governments tell us we have.

The recent ban on smoking in enclosed public places was the perfect opportunity to legalise marijuana, as the only valid argument against it had been taken away. (that it would effect those who chose not to smoke it)

Because gordon brown has said that there will be no radical departures from many of blair's policies, there is a certain extent to which I believe Gordon Brown is keen to be seen to be moving away from at least some of the decisions made by his pedecessor so that at least people can see that this is a genuinely new government.

Picking on this particular policy, however, seems trivial and unnesecary and a touch hypocritical of the circle of government as a whole, more and more of whom are owning up to trying the drug in their youth. linky

Tobacco addicts still affect the lives of those who choose not to smoke it, and put their kids at exponentially higher risk than others for having problems with tobacco in the future.

Alcoholics absolutely still affect the lives of those around them, even if they do not drink in public.

Why should we possibly expect marijuana to be any different in this regard?

Dear Cancer Patient,

Your cause has shown that there is great need for an injected or IV form of the drug marinol, I am sure that drug companies would attempt to develop such a drug if they were aware that there was such a need and the FDA could quickly approve it through proper procedures once it comes into their hands. I am sure that process would be much quicker than attempting to legalize the drug marijuana in smoked form which cannot be properly dosed to be used medically. There are several other appetite suppliments on the market today if you are in dire need at the moment, or IF somehow, smoked marijuana is the ONLY thing that could possibly help you, out of all the dozens of avalible choices to help your appetite, then in the meantime, while waiting for the drug you need to be approved, feel free to medically smoke marijuana; however, I still suspect there are much healthier options out there.

Sincerely,
T-BagBikerStar

Why an IV? They could just make a inhalant... But the bottom line is those therapies are not here and may never be brought to the market. In the meantime marijuana has been proven to be safe an effective (more effective than marinol as I outlined in the post you carefully ignored).

You might do well to read what actual scientists have written, and not anti-marijuana propaganda websites, because clearly you have not researched this subject.

http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/

Deevee dee five dollar. You wan buy DVD? I make you good price, 5 dollar

Listen T.

If you think you know more about the drug than the head toxicologist at new York state University then please tell me where you got your doctorate? or PHd? or any form of medical qualification? which gives you the right to say "no, the head toxicologist is wrong...."

I brought up the netherlands for a reason, it is legal there and widely accepted.....the country has a higher standard of living than the UK and the US........it doesnt destroy countries or communities when it is legal and controlled........the bad social effects of it are caused by the fact gangs and cartels can grow up around it due to its illegality, and the bad medical effects are minimal or totally neutralized by vaporizing or eating the drug, and it is a personal decision just like smoking or drinking which has nothing to do with the government who think "we know best"

It seems you are in favour of a fascist style government, where propaganda runs riot and they control every part of our lives? apart from all the things YOU like and need like sex, or driving, or paint or going outside. (one thing you forgot is the fumes from cars)

Eventually you wont be able to drive without the governments say-so.....if you think that was a joke you obviously underestimate the powers that be.

They actualy use it at half the rate of the US and a third the rate of Canada.

Except for all of the research done that proves otherwise. Like the 'Shaffer Commission', the 'Opinion and Recommended Ruling, Findings of Fact, Cconclusions of Law and Decision of Administrative Law Judge' by Francis L. Young.

To just make it short and sweet:
* 12 States have legalized medical marijuana
* 7 People in the US get medical marijuana from the Federal Government (research: Compassionate IND)
* Marinol (Dronabinol) = Synthetic THC

Please do some research before making claims like you have